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Hakuna Matata

Aug 06, '08

Source: http://colonialhistoriography.blogspot.com/2004/01/aryan-invasion-theory-and-hindu.html

Dr. David Frawley (Vamadeva Shastri)

A recent Western academic paper argues that the Aryan invasion theory is wrong and that there is an indigenous development of civilization in India going back to at least 6000 BCE (Mehrgarh). It proposes that the great Harappan or Indus Valley urban culture (2600 - 1900 BCE), which it notes was centered on the Sarasvati river of Vedic fame, had much in common with Vedic literary accounts. It states that the Harappan culture came to an end not because of outside invaders but owing to environmental changes, most important of which was the drying up of the Sarasvati. It argues further that the movement of populations away from the Sarasvati to the Ganges, after the Sarasvati dried up (c. 1900 - 1300 BCE), was also reflected in the literature. It thereby proposes a complete continuity of cultural development in India revealed both through archaeology and through ancient Indian literature.

Perhaps more shockingly, the article states that the Aryan invasion theory reflects colonialism and Eurocentrism and is quite out of date. Such statements echo those about ancient India that various Hindus have been making since Sri Aurobindo nearly a century ago. Note the conclusion of the long article. The ie. notes and emphases were added by me.

"That the archaeological record and ancient oral and literate traditions of South Asia (ie. the Vedic tradition) are now converging has significant implications for regional cultural history. A few scholars have proposed that there is nothing in the 'literature' firmly placing the Indo-Aryans, the generally perceived founders of the modern South Asian cultural tradition(s), outside of South Asia, and now the archaeological record is confirming this. Within the context of cultural continuity described here, an archaeologically significant indigenous discontinuity occurs due to ecological factors (ie. the drying up of the Sarasvati river). This cultural discontinuity was a regional population shift from the Indus Valley, in the west, to locations east and southeast, a phenomenon also recorded in ancient oral (ie. Vedic) traditions. As data accumulates to support cultural continuity in South Asian prehistoric and historic periods, a considerable restructuring of existing interpretive paradigms must take place. We reject most strongly the simplistic historical interpretations, which date back to the eighteenth century, that continue to be imposed on South Asian culture history. These still prevailing interpretations are significantly diminished by European ethnocentrism, colonialism, racism, and antisemitism. Surely, as South Asian studies approaches the twenty-first century, it is time to describe emerging data objectively rather than perpetuate interpretations without regard to the data archaeologists have worked so hard to reveal."

Is this the statement of a Hindu political ideologue? No, it is by a noted Western archaeologist specializing in ancient India, James Schaffer of Case Western University, who has nothing to do with Hindutva or even Hindu spirituality. It is part of his new article Migration,Philology and South Asian Archaeology soon to appear in Aryan and Non-Aryan in South Asia: Evidence, Interpretation andHistory, edited by J. Bronkhorst and M. Deshpande, University of Michigan Press 1998.

This article doesn't mean that Schaffer accepts a Hindu interpretation of history as a whole or that he is even aware of the political implications of this issue in India. He is simply stating his objective position based upon the evidence he sees as an archaeologist. It doesn't mean that all Western archaeologists have come to this conclusion, though most archaeologists in India like B.B. Lal, S.P. Gupta or S.R.Rao have argued similar points for several years now. But it does mean that views are changing and one can no longer reject those who question the Aryan invasion theory as academically unsound or politically motivated Hindus.

The archaeological record shows nothing like an Aryan invasion but rather an indigenous urban based culture on the Sarasvati that shifted to the Ganga after the Sarasvati dried up. This reflects the shift from theSarasvati based Vedic literature to the Ganga based Puranas.

The Aryan invasion theory, as Schaffer notes, arose from a Eurocentric view that was hostile to an Indic basis for Western civilization or peoples. The discovery of close affinities between the Indo-European languages in the eighteenth century required an explanation. By placing the original Aryans in Europe, who later migrated to India where they got absorbed by the indigenous population, it took away any need to connect the ancient Europeans with India, which was not pleasing to the colonial mindset of the time. The theory eventually developed an antisemetic tone. It was used to trace Western culture not to the Jews and their Biblical accounts but to an proposed European homeland dominated by Nordic peoples. Thus the invasion theory eventually became one of the pillars for Nazi historians (yet strangely the communists in India have become strong supporters of the theory and accuse those who question it of being fascists!).

Unfortunately some scholars today, particularly Indian leftists, argue that the rejection of the Aryan invasion theory is just a political ploy of Hindu fanatics.They point out how Hindu texts like the Vedas and Puranas, though mentioning different regions and rulers, contain many fanciful and unscientific ideas. How therefore can we take their history seriously? They fail to note that all ancient accounts like the Bible, Egyptian, Greek, or Sumerian records have their mythic and legendary elements and this is not used to so completely reject them. They similarly argue that Hindus today have many fanciful ideas about history, like placing the events of the Ramayana over a million years ago, as if this barred any Hindus from ever having valid historical notions.

Such scholars, who clearly have as much modern political as ancient historical concerns themselves, highlight how important Hindu nationalists like Savarkar and Golwalkar argued against the invasion theory. They are afraid that the rejection of the Aryan invasion theory will help pro-Hindu forces to stress the indigenous nature of Hinduism in India, which could be used to brand other religious groups asforeign and anti-national. Particularly they are afraid that it could be used to make Islam an intrusive invader religion and become a pretext to oppress the Islamic minority in the country.

Since some Hindu nationalists like Golwalkar who argued against the invasion theory (though he never claimed to be an historian) had strange ideas like trying to place the north pole in India in the early Aryan period, these Hinduphobic scholars would like us to believe that anyone who rejects the Aryan invasion must have similar unsound ideas about history, as well as a political bias, and therefore must be without credibility. They also project the idea that the Aryan invasion theory has somehow proved itself, though there is as yet no real archaeological evidence for it and all such proposed evidence, like Wheeler's massacre at Mohenjodaro, have themselves been disproved as fanciful.

That the Aryan invasion theory itself has been persistently used to promote anti-Hindu politicalagendas is similarly ignored. The invasion theory has been used like a stick to beat Hindus for the last two hundred years (some of these same scholars who are rasing the political bogey about the rejection of the theory have used it to attack Hinduism themselves). That Hindus might use the demise of the theory fortheir own benefit is only to be expected and is perhaps little more than getting even or restoring balance on these issues.

The British used the theory to discredit any indigenous civilization in the subcontinent, which was seen as succumbing to various waves of invaders from the West, making for a patchwork culture derived from outside influences. This made the British rule seem just another and perhaps necessary phase of a long invasionist saga.

The communists used the Aryan Invasion theory as the basis for their history of India, substituting the caste war of the Brahmin invaders from Central Asia for the European class war model. Dravidian nationalists used it to their advantage, claiming an older purer Dravidian culture that was different from that of the Aryan invaders fromthe north. The Dalits used it to identify themselves with the original inhabitants of the country enslaved by the invading Brahmin dominated Aryans. Christian and Islamic groups have used it to brand the Hindu Rishis as primitive poets leading nomadic hordes, making the Vedas, the scriptures of Hinduism, as withoutany real spirituality! In fact, there is probably no other theory of ancient history that has been used with such blatant political intent or missionary aggression. The theory has even been used by some scholars to make the Yoga tradition or such systems as Tantra, Shaivism, Samkhya, Buddhism and Jainism non-Aryan (though, for example, original Buddhism calls itself 'AryaDharma').

Given this scenario any group would use the demise of such a hostile theory to reclaim value for their own traditions. But to use any possible advantage that Hindus may derive from this historical revindication as a grounds to reject it is ridiculous.

The recent ICHR (Indian Council of Historical Research) controversy comes in to play here. The new BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) government, which has pro-Hindu sympathies, dismissed the old council members whose term was up,which was dominated by leftists and communists (including anumber of self-proclaimed Stalinists). In their place it appointed scholars whose academic credentials were sound but who did not subscribe to leftist views and generally did not accept the Aryan invasion theory. The leftists cried foul and protested about a possible Hindu rewriting or distorting of history for political ends. They attacked senior scholars like B.B. Lal and branded his scholarship defective because he rejected the Aryan invasion theory, dismissing his forty years of work in the field as without basis. They projected anyone who questioned the invasionist scenario as a Hindu fundamentalist and academically suspect.

By the same logic they ought to put Schaffer in this category. That some Indian archaeologists may be Hindus and find pride in discoveries that give antiquity to Hindu culture in India is not an adequate basis to reject their archeological work. Western archaeologists have long used their discoveries to find pride or justification for their Greek,Christian or Judaic traditions. They are not banned from archeology for doing so.

Hindus might abuse the new historical scenario, just as other groups have already long abused the old idea. But this is no reason to reject the new data of history. The fact is that we use history to reflect or promote various cultural, political or religious views. History as a human factor cannot be viewed in a totally neutral cultural light. The very importance of history is that it provides information on which we can build various interpretations of civilization not only relative to the past but to the present and future as well. Of course, we must be aware of the viewpoint, which may be a bias, of the historian and try to separate that from historical facts, which may have other possible interpretations.

Certainly Hindus can find much consolation in the new archaeological data. It corroborates the Vedic historical record and shows a great Certainly Hindus can find much consolation in the new archaeological data. It corroborates the Vedic historical record and shows a great urban culture, the Harappan, to go along with this magnificent literary tradition of the Vedas. The looming demise of the Aryan invasion theory is not a Hindu political ploy. There is much archaeological and literary evidence against it which continues to grow on a daily basis andhas moved far behind the sphere of faithful Hindus. Schaffer's work shows this quite clearly.

Tags: aryan invasion, ait, dumb commies, colonization

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Apr 24, '08

Politicians stink!

>> Click here to view original post

http://www.ibnlive.com/news/ban-fans-politicians-pick-on-ipl-cheerleaders/63924-19.html

Duh, there they go again! After just a few weeks banning sex education in Maharashtra the disease has spread over to the IPL. I thought IPL was about entertainment and cricket.
What the heck is wrong with cheerleaders dancing, and cheering their team????? If you're so focussed on watching cricket then just watch cricket. When they show the cheerleaders then you can close your eyes or hide your face behind a pillow.

Oh Vatsyayana! I can hear you rolling in your grave! These politicians don't know about our culture. What is wrong in showing cleavage, skin, and dancing? The funny thing is that politicians are hypocrites who enjoy all these pleasures behind the scenes, but try to present themseves as ascetics in public. I guess I should get some testimonials from Canadian saree strippers!

Mr Oafridi please learn to keep your eyes on the cricket ball!

Cheerleading is an art! The cheer leaders not only spice up the game, but also make the viewers relaxed; they make the viewers forget their daily worries; spread joy and excitement in the arena; give complete worth to the money you spent!

Oh boy some are just so talented I wish I could dance like them! I'm sure there are many talented Indian girls who would love to take cheerleading as a career. It would be a wonderful idea to have voting to find the best cheerleading team after the end of the tournament!

I see that BCCI vice president is defending the cheerleaders. Go Rajiv Shukla! We are with you!

Go Cheerleaders!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LA8ykQixSIo

Tags: ipl, news, cheerleaders

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Apr 20, '08

Indian Premier League!

The new buzz in town is the newly launched IPL(Indian Premier League). This is surely going to revolutionize cricket no doubt.

I watched the first match which was between Kolkatta Knight Riders and Bangalore Royal Challengers! Boy Brendon McCullum stole the show with his blazing innings!

The inauguration was simply splendid, cheers to Vijay Mallya for sponsoring the event! I had never seen such tall people in my entire life. :P

The Brilliant Opening Ceremony!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=av2QOwGzraM

Ok that's enough, now for the nitpicks which is my profession!

Couldn't they find a better compere than Ajay Jadeja? The dude was lost in his own world. I understand that the concept is new, but couldn't he prepare some interesting questions. All he was saying time and again was that the atmosphere was great! Clear lack of professionalism.

An improvement I suggest would be to have talks on team strategy before the game. You could introduce the teams, the team composition-which they did-but I'd like to see something more than that. I'd have the managers of the team talk about the strategy. Like what is their strategy given the pitch conditions, would they plan on changing the batting order, the fielding formation - ok the fielding formation doesn't change much in cricket, but still you can shed light on the number of slips etc. I'm sure they would have a plan set for a specific batsman.

This will surely make the game more interesting for the viewers! T20 is not all about going out there and swinging your bat.

Even though T20 is something new, I'd like to see it evolve, I'd like to see new strategies used. Some may miserably fail, but you always learn from your mistakes. This will go a long way in preserving the quality of the game, and educating the viewers about the game itself.

T20 is not all about entertainment! It's a mixture of entertainment and good quality cricket. I'm happy that T20 is scoring good points on the entertainment part with all the hot cheer leaders, but there is a clear lack of professionalism.

Now the big question is what the heck do managers know about T20 cricket which mostly comprises of Business men and, Bollywood actors. Well, I'd ask them to hire a coach or someone who knows about the game, and is able to provide the viewers some insight into the game.

I hope the IPL doesn't make a big joke of itself by making a mockery of the game.

Now for my favorite team. I thought I'd root for the Royal Challengers. But the team is a joke - comprises mostly of test players. You need creative batsmen who continuously look to improvise to be successful in T20. Ok may be I'm a bit hard on them, because it's difficult to judge them after the first match which was a one man show! but still it doesn't take Einstein to know their team composition is not well though out.

I'll be cheering for the Deccan Chargers!

Official site : http://www.IPLT20.com

Tags: news, dlf ipl, cricket

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Feb 26, '08

Are you an internet addict ?

Symptoms :

1)You see a pic of a model on a website and think "I used to have that slim look once." sigh.

2)You check your e-mail accounts more than the number of times you blink in a single day.

3)You search for the mouse at the dinner table to drag and drop the eatables on to your plate.

4)You lose patience filling the jar with water because you think that the download is too slow.

5)You go to buy veggies, and ask the shopkeeper, "how much does 1MB cost" ?

6)You try to click on ads with the remote while watching TV.

7)You meet an old friend, he asks, "where do you live?", and you give your website address.

8)You go out, look at nature, and exclaim.. "wow very realistic!"

9)You decide to name your child "cooldude567_weirdo12_bvndsfkjsl0"

10)When you meet someone you ask their name, and next ask for password.

If you have at least 5 of these symptoms then you're in great danger of becoming a fictitious character in the real world.

Seriously, internet addiction can be dangerous, it hampers your health, makes you isolated, sometimes even cause break ups(with the real partner not the one in the virtual world

)
It's better if you follow a strict schedule. You can easily get lost on the internet as you find a whole load of information. You click on one link and then click on another link, and the clicking goes on. You lose track of the time spent, and most of the time you don't even get the desired information. It's better to have a favourites list--websites you deem the best to know about your interests--at least that way you won't have to keep searching, clicking, reading, and wasting time. Physical exercise is vital. See to that you exercise at least twice a week. Get good sleep! Sleep deprivation has many harmful effects. Sleep is important for the formation of memory so no matter how much information you read on the net you need to give enough time for it to seep into your brain. Socialize more in the real world!

This is a very good site to know your level of addiction :
http://www.netaddiction.com/resources/internet_addiction_test.htm

If nothing works then the last resort would be..

You can see in which direction we are heading..

Tags: recovery, computer, addict, addiction, internet

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Feb 18, '08

Internet reality check!

My tryst with the internet began in 1999 when I was in the 9th standard. Since then I have been using the internet very often for various purposes like e-mail, googling, chatting, participating in discussion forums, games, social networking etc. In these 8 years I've learnt a lot about the internet. Here are my suggestions based on my experiences with some of these online services..

E-mail/webmail : I've forgotten the number of e-mail id's I've created till now :) No matter how many e-mail ids you create it's better to have different ids and passwords. I feel it's better to have atleast 3 mail ids on 3 different sites. One id to contact close friends another to contact family members, and the last but not the least for subscribing online stuff, letting new acquaintances contact you, and for registration purposes. The main advantage is that you have different address list on different sites. Easier to control spam as you normally know who is going to contact you. Never flaunt your e-mail ids on the internet because of bots that crawl web pages for e-mail address.

What's in an ID ?

If you didn't know how someone(your enemy) could take advantage of your e-mail id check this out.. This happened to me once!

http://www.cdt.org/speech/spam/ipspoof.html
http://www.consumerfraudreporting.org/email_headers.php#explanation

Google : What can I say ? It's the oracle! Search engine extraordinaire! The future of mankind!
ok lets get back to the topic.. I google a lot, frankly speaking..I google almost everything under the sun! It's simply amazing the way google captured the market. It's been growing and growing.. we now have.. google adsense, google analytics, google page rank, google gadgets, google maps, google earth, google mars, goo..wait! count out the last one for the moment..etc.. I've used these resources to great effect especially the spelling checker in the toolbar.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Google_services

Wikipedia : The ultimate source of knowledge. If you think its not and you are..then you could share it with the world by becoming a wikipedian! To know more about viki watch I robot oops.. I meant to know more about Wiki click these links..Jimmy Wales interview is a classic!

http://www.goodexperience.com/blog/archives/000124.php
http://www.riehle.org/computer-science/research/2006/wikisym-2006-interview.html

Internet Forums/Websites : Be warned! Its a jungle out there! Before joining internet forums please read the policies, rules and regulations. You find all kinds of animals on internet forums. I like freedom of speech but not that borders to hate, racism, rabid nationalism etc..

Forum-la la :

1. You're involved in a debate, and after some time it gets heated and then the name calling begins but its all natural as everyone involved in the discussion are in a similar mindset. What pisses me off is when some one who has no idea about the discussion comes and attacks a debater for using harsh language.

2. Multiple accounts..phew only the insane do this..I've seen the same user create multiple accounts to create a majority who accept his views. Some who have no good work to do interact with self using multiple accounts. The best way to gain sympathy is by attacking yourself so that 'others' who have no idea come and show sympathy to you and your arguments. Gimme a break! I think MAD(multiple account disorder) users should be banned from internet forums!

3. Memes-yes a word coined by Richard Dawkins.. Internet is a great place to spread memes..there are always a bunch of people out there who believe everything they read!
Incidentally this is already a field of research..

http://pespmc1.vub.ac.be/MEMENET.html

http://www.oddee.com/item_63440.aspx

4. Hijacking usernames.. imagine if someone uses your name or a similar handle to that of yours to create a negative impression about you by posting something irrational..how stupid is that..and what about the people who believe--how stupid are they ?

5. Users who will go to any extent to prove that you're wrong! they defy all logical principles! The funny thing is that you cannot understand the tone of the words..your arguments can be easily twisted and turned. They take complete advantage of this! lol what a pack of losers me says!
Losers in real life tend to make more noise on forums. Those cowards don't even reveal their identity.

Chatting, Games, Social Networking : I haven't tried these services much although I made a good friend while chatting on yahoo. She was very sweet and much older to me ;) we exchanged e-mails and some photos. Now, I'm just too lazy and bored to continue this long distance relationship..I hope to meet her someday in person.

Games I play more on my PC than on the net. I've tried Zapak and its cool! Two thumbs up to them. I like playing chess on FICS.

Networking sites are booming at the rate when one day there will be more networking sites than users..kidding of course...I've tried Orkut and its cool. Fropper rocks big time, but I'm not a prem member so I really haven't experienced the thrills.. EZblogs is simply a brilliant concept! I tried blogspot.com which is pretty good. I believe wordpress is gaining popularity.

So there that's about it..I've penned down..er..keyed in my experiences. Hope that helps.
Internet is a huge leap in technology it has its pros and cons no doubt. But if you're careful enough and clever enough then you can reap maximum benefits.

Tags: internet, security, services, wiki, google, email, forums

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Feb 11, '08

My journey within..

First, I'd like to clear out a major misconception..
Atheism has nothing to do with Hitler. Hitler was an anti-christian. I'm a liberal, and his communist ideology scares me to death. It's mindless to connect atheism to the atrocities of Hitler.

Atheism promotes rational thinking, and viewing the world from a scientific perspective.

That said, as any dumb idiot would do-I started evaluating religions, but soon reached a point where all religions seemed good or all religions seemed bad. It's simply impossible to find out the best religion. What I found dumbfounding was, why people believed or followed religious philosophies that dated back to medieval times ? How very primitive! we live in a world where science and technology has advanced multiple folds compared to those times, and people still stick to some age old nonsense.

Ok then, Religion and God were out of my way, but here came the problem.. It was difficult to find inspiration! I felt like life was a waste..I mean, think about it..if there is no creator and no nirvana it means we are here for no reason..what is life all about ? After some deep thought I realised.. Life is about survival! There are many things in the world that amazes you makes you think what are they ? So to me this is what life is all about..to know more about things that amaze me.. leave me in a state of awe..The point is that you don't need an imaginary friend or God to share the wonders when there are many like-minded humans around you.

I wondered what the heck made God so special..uh..it was obvious his supernatural powers.
umm..Do you need to believe in supernatural powers ? Well, If you're a bollywood action movie addict then your answer would probably be Yes. When science can explain almost all natural phenomenas, and has debunked so many superstitious beliefs..its unreal if you still believe in the supernatural. Rational thinking, empirical evidences, and well established scientific principles is the way to go!

Everything I've written is an oversimplified version.. there are great minds involved both in scientific fields and theological fields. There are also the Cosmologists who believe that everything is an illusion which is similar to Zen Buddhism, Quantum physicists and their dream state scenario etc.. They are all just theories that haven't been proven.

Tags: inner journey, thoughts, religion, atheism

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Feb 10, '08

The God Delusion

The God Delusion written by the world famous biologist Richard Dawkins changed my life!
I transformed from a hotch-potch agnostic to a full-fledged atheist.

Down memory lane...
I started to doubt the existence of 'god' when my exams went really bad. I was 18 then. I mean I worked really hard, never missed my worship..etc for my exams, but the results were clearly below par. If there was a person out there watching me, and all the things I did then I got cheated by him. All this sounds silly now, but that's the main reason I stopped believing that there is an almighty up there somewhere whom you need to please to earn rewards. What the heck.. I mean if you're really interested in something then why the heck do you need to please someone else ? You need please yourself, and the reward is satisfaction!

So there I thought I had done something big.. and my life would change drastically. Nah! life just moved on..I stopped worshipping, and going to temples. By the time I was an undergraduate--this is the stage in life where it seems you never have enough time to do anything--I was an agnostic. But as soon as I finished two years in my university I had become more responsible. I tried my best to keep up with current affairs, people who make the difference, politics etc. Jihad was the buzz word back then *Religion and God* were in the limelight..So once again I had to stretch my thinking level to understand what was going on. This time I went really deep! Why the heck were a group of people killing in the name of god ? What's the aim of their religion ?

I was very restless, I live in a country where there are many religions. We are taught in school about unity in diversity, and religious tolerance is one of the main tenets of our constitution. So then what the heck is religion ? God ? This was the start of a memorable intellectual journey..

more later..

Tags: atheist

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